Friends, family, visitors, welcome to my project page!

My name is Donatien and I am 17 year old. As some of you may know, I will spend the month of July in Benin (West Africa) to build a primary school in the village of Korhou and give access to quality education to the local children, including young girls who are often prevented from going to school. We will also plant artemisia to provide natural remedies against malaria.

I am participating in this project through the Belgian association Le Verso du Miroir, that was set up by a teacher at my school and has taken groups of young people to Benin since 2008 to build schools and complete other projects.

I will live with a local family, work on the school with the local masons and explore this beautiful country at the weekends to further learn about its people and culture.

I have always wanted to make a positive difference through volunteering work involving concrete realisations. In the past, I participated in several projects focused on building eco-friendly constructions for children camps in natural environments.

I have heard about this meaningful project and its successful realisations since I joined my school three years ago. I have always wanted to take part and I am impatient to now have the opportunity to participate with a great team of people who all want to make a positive difference.

Here is what a finished school looks like, as well as a video from last year, that will give you a feel for how we work with the local community:

I am passionate about this project because it gives me an opportunity to make a true difference. It is not just about building the school. It is about giving the local children the opportunity to build their future and to contribute their full potential to their family and community.

Here are some pictures of our preparation week-ends:

The purpose of the first weekend was to get together as a team and to learn more about Africa, the local community that we are going to work with and what to expect when we get there. We also experienced practical tools to prepare ourselves as a team, such as how to manage potential stress situations.

We also spent a weekend focused on manual labour on a farm to learn to work together.

We also organised a series of fundraisers:

Such a huge project costs A LOT of money. While we have already come very far in our funding through the events listed above, there is still some way to go. Any donation towards this great cause will help make a difference to the children in Benin and will be very much appreciated. Actually, it is not only about the financial contribution, but also about your support, which makes you be part of our team and which means the world to them and to me.

Build a school in Benin